Strongbox
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1650
Materials
Iron, Paint
Measurements
30 x 65 x 31 cm
Place of origin
Germany
Order this imageCollection
Snowshill Manor and Garden, Gloucestershire
NT 1333583
Caption
It was the Victorians who started to call these strong boxes Armada Chests as they thought the intricate locking systems would be the kind of thing used to keep armada gold safe.
Summary
An iron strong box, German, circa 1650. Often referred to as an Armada chest, the lock to the underside of the lid with a six-bolt mechanism, complete with key, side carrying handles and two eyes with hasps for padlocks, the lock parts lightly engraved with swirls and geometric patterns, the interior painted orange/red.. Charles Wade makes a pun by putting bowls in the Armada Chest' (M. Jessup).
Provenance
Given to the National Trust with Snowshill Manor in 1951 by Charles Paget Wade.